High-speed trader Virtu revives IPO plans

BradleyHope

One of the world’s biggest high-frequency trading firms is betting that the “Flash Boys” furor is behind it.

Virtu Financial Inc. is reviving its plan to go public, and is expected to file a revised IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission within days, according to people familiar with the matter.

The new paperwork will contain updates to the information Virtu filed last year before it indefinitely delayed its IPO in the wake of the publication of “Flash Boys,” a book that sparked controversy over high-frequency trading. The book, by Michael Lewis, argues the markets are “rigged” in favor of high-speed traders, exchanges and big banks. Advocates of high-frequency trading say they make the markets more efficient and reduce the cost of trading for investors.

Virtu executives believe the backlash against computerized trading has died down, the people said.

Under last year’s IPO plans, Virtu was seeking to raise more than $200 million by selling shares that valued the company at about $3 billion, people familiar with the terms at the time told The Wall Street Journal. It isn’t clear if those plans have changed.

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